The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for performing root cause analysis and monitoring of a storage system via a single view of the storage system that shows all the configuration objects of the storage system.
The term storage management encompasses technologies and processes organizations utilize to maximize or improve the performance of their data storage resources. Storage management is a broad category that includes virtualization, replication, mirroring, security, compression, traffic analysis, process automation, storage provisioning, and related techniques. By some estimates, the amount of digital information stored in the world's computer systems is doubling every year. As a result, organizations feel constant pressure to expand their storage capacity. However, doubling a company's storage capacity every year is an expensive proposition. In order to reduce some of those costs and improve the capabilities and security of their storage solutions, organizations turn to a variety of storage management solutions.
Many storage management technologies, like storage virtualization, deduplication, and compression, allow companies to better utilize their existing storage. The benefits of these technologies include lower costs—both the one-time capital expenses associated with storage devices and the ongoing operational costs for maintaining those devices. Most storage management techniques also simplify the management of storage networks and devices, which allows companies to save time and even reduce the number of information technology (IT) workers needed to maintain their storage systems, which in turn, also reduces overall storage operating costs. Storage management may also help improve a data center's performance. For example, compression and technology may enable faster input/output (I/O) operations, and automatic storage provisioning may speed the process of assigning storage resources to various applications.
In addition, virtualization and automation technologies may help an organization improve its agility. These storage management techniques make it possible to reassign storage capacity quickly as business needs change, reducing wasted space and improving a company's ability to respond to evolving market conditions. Finally, many storage management technologies, such as replication, mirroring and security, may help a data center improve its reliability and availability. These techniques are often particularly important for backup and archive storage, although they also apply to primary storage. IT departments often turn to these technologies for help in meeting service level agreements (SLAs) or achieving compliance goals.